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Undoubtedly, the largest vegetable in the garden can be considered a pumpkin. In temperate climates, you can grow a specimen weighing up to fifty kilograms. Pumpkin is very rich in carotene and is one of the healthiest vegetables for the body. Assign a pumpkin diet to patients with vision problems. Pumpkin is also useful in stomach ailments. This plant is suitable even for growing at home.
Seed selection
Pumpkin loves heat very much, and with proper care and selection of seedlings, it is ready to bestow a generous and plentiful harvest. As a rule, pumpkin seedlings are selected according to several indicators. These include external indicators and economic qualities that affect the growing process. When choosing a pumpkin variety, pay attention to the type of cuttings, leaves and fruits, as well as the structure of the bark and pulp of the fruit.
The economic qualities of pumpkin include its yield, early maturity, shelf life and resistance to adverse conditions. If you are focusing on taste, then these include the consistency of the pulp, the size of the seed nest, the sweetness and the presence of the shell of the seeds.
For sowing and cultivation, they try to choose large seeds. Discard frail seeds, choosing the highest quality ones. The best preparation for sowing can be considered their germination before pecking. Before sowing, the seeds are dipped in warm water for 2 hours, and after 2 days at room temperature they are wrapped in a damp cloth. It is worth noting that in the cultivation of pumpkin, the process of soaking the seeds is mandatory. Seeds prepared in this way suffer less from pests due to the fact that they lose their taste. Soaked seeds germinate faster.
To increase resistance to cold, some gardeners harden off seeds that have hatched. To do this, before planting, it is necessary to wrap the pecked pumpkin seeds in a damp cloth and place them in the vegetable section of the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Planting and care
Pumpkin is a very thermophilic plant. The optimal planting time is the time when the soil has warmed up enough and the average daily temperature has begun to exceed 10 degrees Celsius. Seedlings begin to be planted in the ground when the air temperature exceeds 13 degrees. If you start planting and growing seedlings at lower temperatures, they will not develop properly and may even rot in the soil.
During the planting of seedlings, the soil is deprived of the necessary moisture, which would be sufficient for the formation of seedlings. It is for this reason that about two liters of warm water is poured into the planting hole to replenish moisture. Seedlings need to be laid as water is absorbed into the soil. Then the seeds are covered with a nutrient mixture and mulched with humus or peat chips. Such actions significantly increase the field germination of seedlings.
Video “Seeds for seedlings”
Bait
In order to grow a high-quality pumpkin crop in your garden, you need to properly care for, systematically water and properly feed the plant. The pumpkin has an average growing season of about three months. After 90 days, a full-fledged crop can be grown from seedlings without much effort. As a result, you get a healthy and tasty product on your site.
Fertilizing pumpkins is usually done in two stages. The first stage begins when three or more full-fledged leaves appear. It is necessary to add nitrophoska to the soil in a dry form in a ratio of 10 g per bush. With the formation of a wattle plant, the second stage begins, at which nitrophoska is added, dissolved in water in a ratio of 15 g per 1 bush. Ash elements are also considered high-quality bait, which are used in the amount of one glass per bush. Mullein is also very suitable as groundbait for pumpkins.
How to protect yourself from pests
Pests and diseases of home-grown pumpkins can destroy much of the crop. Chemical and biological agents effectively cope with them and make it easier for the gardener to grow plants. Preventive measures also play an important role in this process.
Pumpkin can be affected by diseases such as mosaic, powdery mildew, and fruit rot. Pests can also cause irreparable harm to your crop. The main pests of pumpkin plants are melon aphids and wireworms.
The main method of protection against aphids is thorough weed control. Spraying the plants with a solution of soap or lye also helps. For these purposes, you can also use a decoction of wormwood. It effectively fights against pumpkin pests, such as melon aphids, etc.
Wireworms are able to gnaw the basal neck of pumpkin seedlings and damage it. These pests – larvae of click beetles, appear in the spring. In May, females lay eggs in the upper layers. Wireworms can reach 17 mm in length. Their body is quite hard and looks like a wire. Wireworms pupate, and after a while, adult beetles appear from them, which hibernate in the soil. In low and humid places, you can see the largest accumulation of these insects.
You can protect yourself from these pests with the help of early deep autumn plowing, loosening between rows and weed control. On small bushes, the bait method is also used. For this, pieces of beets or potatoes are perfect, with the help of which pests are lured and destroyed using permitted insecticides.
Video “Pumpkin Planting”
For a detailed guide on how to properly plant a pumpkin, see the video below. It contains useful information and answers to the most popular questions in the industry.
